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Michigan State v. Ohio State Football Betting Odds & Lines

Written October 14, 2008 by Luke Knight

Editor’s Note: Luke Knight has won dime bettors $4,520 this year with his college football picks, and has his Big Ten Game of the Year going on this matchup.

This weekend The Ohio State Buckeyes will travel to East Lansing, Michigan to face off with the Michigan State Spartans. With both teams coming into the game with 6-1 (3-0) records, the game could potentially have Big Ten Conference title implications. The Buckeyes have reeled off 4-straight wins after that embarrassing loss to the USC Trojans in the Coliseum. The Spartans have reeled off 6-straight wins after a loss to the California Golden Bears out on the west coast. Both teams need this win to stay in the Big Ten title hunt with Penn State, who both face later in the season. With the both teams sitting atop the Big Ten and ranked in the Top 25, it is no surprise that college football odds makers have the line set close with the Buckeyes as a 3-point favorite over the Spartans at BetUS.

The Buckeyes’ offense struggled last week against Purdue. Terrelle Pryor took three unnecessary sacks because he held on to the ball for too long. Beanie Wells was held under 100 yards for the first time all season. Also, the Buckeye offensive line struggled against the worst-ranked defense in the Big Ten in Purdue. Terrelle Pryor was supposed to be the answer to the Buckeyes’ offensive woes. Instead more and more teams are defending the run and forcing him to beat them passing, which he has failed to do. The answer may be to use both Terrelle Pryor and Todd Boeckman at quarterback. There is no doubt that the Buckeyes will be looking for anything that will get their offense into the end zone. On the brightside, Michigan State has given over 100 yards rushing more than once this season, including the last two weekends against Iowa’s Shonn Greene and Northwestern’s Tyrell Sutton. Beanie Wells will once again top the century mark this week.

The Ohio State defense has been pretty tough all season. Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins is one of the best in the nation. He blocked the punt that led to the Buckeyes only touchdown last week and also had an interception that gave the Buckeyes near midfield. The defense forced two turnovers against Purdue, while the defensive line had its best game of the season. The defense harassed Curtis Painter all day long and the d-line picked up two sacks and forced a fumble, which Lawrence Wilson, who is out for the season, recovered. The Buckeyes defense held P.J. Hill to just 63 yards in the matchup against Wisconsin, so they have shown they can stop a top running back, but they also gave up 105 yards to USC’s Joe McKnight in the trouncing at the Coliseum. The defense will have to stop Javon Ringer, if the offense continues to be ineffective. Both Iowa and California held Ringer in check; Cal won the game outright and Iowa took it down to the wire.

Javon Ringer is one of the top backs in the nation, competing on a weekly basis with Beanie Wells. Quarterback Brian Hoyer has been efficient all season. Against Northwestern last week he went 14 of 20 for 169 yards and two touchdowns. No, his numbers are not going to blow you away, but that is the type of efficiency the Spartans need to compliment Ringer’s running game. Ringer put up over 200 yards against Notre Dame and Florida Atlantic and had 197 against Indiana. The Spartan offense needs two things to have a chance at pulling off this upset: Javon Ringer needs to have a big day, because when he is held in check Michigan State struggles and Brian Hoyer needs to be efficient and protect the football. The Buckeye defense has won games for them this year and Hoyer cannot give them the opportunity to exploit turnovers.

The Spartan defense held Northwester to 20 points, broke up 12 passes, forced three turnovers, and looked solid overall. The defense did give up 139 yards to Tyrell Sutton, which could be a foreshadowing of the type of day Wells will have. The Wildcats put up 459 yards of total offense against this Spartan defense, but Ohio State struggled against Purdue. This will be a good test for this defense. They will have to force Pryor to beat them with his arm, because if they let him run the day will go downhill fast. Beanie Wells should have a big day, but the key will be to minimize its effect, just like they did with Tyrell Sutton.

At the beginning of the season, this game looked like a mere speed bump on Ohio State’s way to the Big Ten conference title. Now this game is a marquee matchup to determine who will challenge Penn State for the Big Ten Championship. The key for Ohio State is offense and the key for Michigan State is defense, which makes the matchup all the more intriguing. BetUS has Ohio State as a 3 point favorite in East Lansing.

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